Supporting base for industrial refrigeration apparatus



Nov. 11, 1969 J. R. TIPPMANN 3,477,668

SUPPORTING BASE FOR INDUSTRIAL REFRIGERATION APPARATUS Filed March 4, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet l Inventor JOSEPH RUPPMANN M Hood,Gust.,lnsh

Attorneqs NOV. 11, 1969 TlP M N 3,477,668

SUPPORTING BASE FOR INDUSTRIAL REFRIGERATION APPARATUS Filed March 4, 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet EW O 71, 7%,, [HI/111M,

FIG. 5 4

inventor JOSEPH RTW 62 5 t lHood eusblrfi'h AttcrnQqQ United States Patent 3,477,668 SUPPORTING BASE FOR INDUSTRIAL REFRIGERATION APPARATUS Joseph R. Tippmann, Fort Wayne, Ind., assignor to Tippmann Engineering, Inc., Fort Wayne, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Filed Mar. 4, 1968, Ser. No. 710,312 Int. Cl. E02d 27/44 US. Cl. 248-19 13 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A supporting base for industrial refrigeration apparatus comprising a relatively flat, rigid frame of channel irons positioned with the Webs thereof upright. Said frame in one form is rectangular so as to have spaced-apart side and end members, these members being the aforementioned channel irons. A steel plate is welded to the bottom flanges of the channel irons so as to provide a floor in the frame, the provision of this floor thereby defining with the channel irons a concrete-containing mold. A plurality of elongated angle irons extend between and are securely affixed to the end channels and constitute a reinforcing part of the frame. These angle irons are spaced above the floor and aifixed to the channel irons immediately adjacent to the top portions thereof. A body of solidified concrete fills the frame. The concrete body is bonded to the angle irons and defines therewith a flat top surface. A plurality of elongated reinforcing rods extend between the side and end members, respectively, within the volume of the concrete body, but they are not bonded thereto. The rods are tensioned and thereby forcefully compress the side and end channels against the perimeter of the concrete body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to a supporting base for industrial refrigeration apparatus, and more particularly to a supporting base uniquely constructed of steel and concrete, which not only facilitates mounting of refrigeration apparatus thereon but the adjustment thereof at any time during installation or thereafter.

Description of the prior art Industrial refrigeration apparatus used in dairies,

bakeries, food-processing plants, cold storage plants and the like may be regarded as heavy machinery, the components used therein being relatively large in weight and size. Motors and compressors used in such refrigerating systems normally are anchored firmly to a floor or the like for the reason that they must be aligned with other equipment connected thereto and remain in such position during all periods of operation. Because of heavy operational loads imposed on such equipment and the tendency of the same to vibrate, it is necessary that the equipment be firmly, permanently anchored. In the past, it has been conventional to bolt such equipment to a concrete floor or other similar base. Such an arrangement has not been satisfactory inasmuch as it has required that the refrigeration equipment be assembled at the site where it was to be used, leading to costly installations and subsequent servicing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the broader aspects of this invention, there is provided a supporting base constructed at the site where the refrigeration apparatus is to be preassembled. The base includes a relatively flat, rigid frame Patented Nov. 11, 1969 of predetermined thickness, this frame having spacedapart side and end members. A plate-like floor member in the frame is secured to the side and end members, thereby defining a concrete-containing mold. A plurality of elongated equipment-mounting frame elements extending between and being securely afiixed to the end members constitute a reinforcing part of the frame. These frame elements are spaced apart from each other and above said floor member in spaced relation therewith. A body of solidified concrete fills the mold and is bonded to the frame elements. With these frame elements, the concrete body defines a flat top surface. A plurality of elongated frame-reinforcing members are secured to and extend between the side members and the end members, respectively. The frame-reinforcing members are imbedded in but not bonded to the concrete body, the framereinforcing members being tensioned and forcefully compressing the side and end members against the perimeter of the concrete body.

OBJECTS It is an object of this invention to provide a supporting base for industrial refrigeration apparatus which can be constructed in a plant where the refrigeration apparatus is preassembled and which can be mounted permanently on the base, the base and the apparatus constituting a single package which can be transported to a site where it is to be used.

It is another object of this invention to provide a supporting base for industrial refrigeration apparatus which is strong, has a relatively long wearlife, is durable and resists breakage due to vibration and loading of the equipment during operation, and can be adjusted at the installation site without fear of breaking the same.

Another object of this invention is to provide a prefabricated supporting base for industrial refrigeration equipment having reinforcing-frame elements located to mount properly heavy equipment to be installed on the base, the base including steel and concrete in reinforcing relation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above-mentioned and other features and objects of this invention and the manner of attaining them will become more apparent and the invention itself will be best understood by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective illustration of a typical package of refrigeration equipment utilizing a supporting base of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective illustration of the supporting base partially sectioned and broken away for clarity of illustration;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken substantially along section line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along section line 4-4 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a jack pad used in this invention and shown installed on the supporting base of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, a typical package of industrial refrigeration e'quipment is shown as being completely assembled and in readiness for transporting and operation. This equipment is mounted securely on a supporting base, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, which is heavy, rigid and durable. This base 10 is of concrete reinforced with steel. The precise construction of this base 10 is clearly shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. As shown more clearly in FIG. 2, the steel structure includes a welded, rectangular framework of channel irons, channel irons 12 and 14 constituting the end members thereof and channels 16 and 18 being the side members. The flanges on the channel irons 12 and 14 are turned outwardly as shown, While the flanges on the side members 16 and 18 are turned inwardly. The ends of all of the channels are welded to each other to complete a shallow, rigid, box-like structure.

The webs of all the channels are arranged vertically and the upper flanges thereof lie in a common plane as shown for a purpose which will become apparent from the explanation following later.

To the bottom flanges of the channels 12, 14, 16 and 18 is welded a sheet 20 of plate steel, this sheet 20 being regarded as a floor member which forms with the channels 12, 14, 16 and 18 a box-like mold into which wet concrete may be poured. The sheet 20 is of heavy gauge material so as to provide not only a floor for the mold, but also to impart strength to the total frame structure as a reinforcing part thereof.

Extending from end-to-end of the base and welded to the end channels 12 and 14 are a number of angle irons 22, 24, 26 and 28 which are arranged in spaced-apart parallel relation. As shown more clearly in FIG. 3, one flange 30 of each of the angle irons is arranged horizontally with the surface thereof in the same plane as the surface of the upper flanges of the channels 12, 14, 16 and 18. The other flange 32 of the angle irons is arranged vertically and projects downwardly about one-fourth of the depth of the mold. The reason for this will become apparent from the explanation that follows.

A plurality of reinforcing rods are disposed within the volume of the mold, a first series of these rods as indicated by numeral 34 extending transversely of the frame with the ends passing through openings in the channels 16 and 18 to receive nuts and washers thereon which abut against the webs of the channels 16 and 18. These rods 34 are spaced apart and parallel, there being a suflicient number to reinforce the assembly.

Another series of rods, as indicated by numeral 36, extendbetween the end channels 12 and 14, and have ends which extend through openings therein, these ends receiving nuts and washers the same as the rods 34. The rods 36 are arranged in pairs in which the rods in each pair are vertically spaced as shown more clearly in FIG. 3. The pairs of rods are horizontally spaced as shown, the uppermost rods 36 being located in a level or plane which includes the lower edges of the flanges 32. The lower ones of the rods 36 are disposed above the plate 20 as shown in FIG. 3.

In the initial assembly of the rods 34 and 36 to the frame 12, 14, 16, 18, the nuts on the ends thereof are tightened just enough to retain the rods 34 and 36 in position. Caremust be exercised not to tighten these nuts too much as to cause the channels 12, 14, 16 and 18 to bow inwardly toward each other. The nut and washer assemblies on the rods 34 are indicated by the numerals 38 and 40, respectively, while the nut and washer assemblies on the rods 36 are indicated by the numerals 42.

Next, box frames indicated generally by the numeral 44, are mounted on the angle irons 22, 24, 26 and 2 8 as shown, and since these frames 44 are constructed identically, a description of one will suffice for all. Each frame 44 is fabricated of angle irons welded to each other at the ends thereof with one of the flanges on each angle iron being directed inwardly and in a common plane parallel to the plane defined by the horizontal flanges 30. The frame 44 is substantially square, but may be of different shapes without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

Theframe 44 rests on the horizontal flanges 30 of an adjacent pair of angle irons 22, 24, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and is there securely welded in place. Enlarged holes 46 are provided in thecorner portions of the frames 4 44 in vertical registry with similar openings 48 in the horizontal flanges 30 of the angle irons 22, 24, 26 and 28. This is shown more clearly in FIG. 3.

L-shaped anchor bolts 50', threaded at the upper ends as shown, have the angle portions 52 thereof welded securely to the floor plate 20. The anchor bolts 50 upstand from the floor plate 20 and project through the vertically aligned openings 46 and 48.

On the end channels 12 and 14 are mounted jack pads 52 as more clearly shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. Each jack pad 52 includes a bracket having right angle flanges 54 and 56, two reinforcing gusse'ts 58 being Welded thereto. An elongated abutment block 60 is welded to the lower flange 62 of the end channel 12 as shown and is spaced from the web 64 of the channel 12 by an amount slightly larger than the thickness of the bracket flange 56. The length of the flange 56 substantially coincides with the interval dimension of the web 64 so that the flange 56 can conveniently fit between the channel flanges 62 and 66. Otherwise, the flange 56 has a dimension which will permit swinging the bracket 54, 56 forwardly from the position shown in FIG. 5 and removing the pad 52 from the channel 12. For installing the pad 52, the lower edge portion of the flange 56 is merely inserted into the space between the abutment block 60 and the web 64, and the pad 52 is then merely swung rearwardly into engagement with the web 64 as shown in both FIGS. 1 and 5. It is important that the flange 56 be of such length as will position the other, horizontal flange 54 immediately adjacent to the underside of the flange 66. Also, it is important that the abutment block 60 upstand from the flange 62 far enough such that the pad 52cannot be dislodged from the channel 12 while it'is being used.

The pads 52 are used for the purpose of lifting and adjusting the level of the base 10. As seen in FIG. 1, if 'it is desired to lift the left-hand end of the base 10, two jacks are placed beneath the flanges 54 and operated to impart a lifting force thereto. Further operation of the jacks result in lifting the left-hand end of the base 10. Thus, the level of the base 10 may easily be adjusted by use of these jacks, and permanent shims may be installed underneath the base 10 so as to place it permanently in the position desired.

Further, in the fabrication of the base 10, when all of the framework as described has been installed, and all of the electrical and plumbing conduits laid therewithin, concrete is poured into the frame to a level flush with the upper surface of the flanges 30 of the angle irons 22, 24, 26 and 28 and also the upper flanges of the four channels 12, 14, 16 and 18. The concrete is troweled smooth, leaving exposed the upper metal surfaces on the flanges30 as shown in the right-hand portions of the structure in FIG. 2. The concrete flows beneath the flanges 32 of the angle irons 22, 24, 26 and 28 and completely fills the cavity between the floor plate 20 and the upper flanges of the side and end channels 12, 14, 16 and 18. Additional concrete is poured inside the box frames 44 to a level at which it is flush with the upper surfaces thereof.

' Before pouring the concrete, rubber or the like sleeves are fitted around the anchor bolts 50 for the upper half of the length thereof. After the concrete has hardened, these sleeves are removed from the bolts 50, thereby leaving coaxial cavities 68 as shown more clearly in FIGS. 3 and 4. Thus, the lower half of the anchor bolts 50 are firmly imbedded and bonded to the concrete, whereas the upper half thereof has some lateral clearance therewith. The openings 46 and 48 inthe two angle irons previously described (FIG. 3) are of the same diameter as the recess Before the concrete is poured, all of the rods 34 and 36 are greased so as to prevent the concrete from bonding thereto. Onthe other hand, care is exercised that all of the other framework does not have any foreign material thereon which will prevent bonding of the concretetherewith. Thus, all of the flanges 32 of the angle irons 22,

24, 26 and 28 are imbedded in and bonded to the concrete. The concrete also covers intimately the floor plate 20 as well as the flanges of the side channels 16 and 18. Once the concrete hardens into the body indicated by the numeral 70, a hard, upper mounting surface substantially coextensive with the upper surfaces of-the flanges 30 results.

As the concrete hardens and cures, the nuts on the rods 34 and 36 are progressively tightened. A satisfactory schedule for tightening has been found to be once each twenty-four hours for seven days. At the end of this time, and for an operating embodiment of this invention as more specifically described hereinafter, rods 36 will have lengthened about /2 inch each. As a consequence of this tightening, considerable compressive force will be applied to the periphery of the concrete slab or body 70 which is useful in maintaining the concrete in solid, uncracked condition even though it is subjected to substantial stress and strain by the equipment mounted thereon.

As seen in FIG. 1, the equipment mounted on the base rests on the flanges 30 of the angle irons 22, 24, 26 and 28. Alternatively, the equipment may be mounted directly on the frames 44. For example, the unit indicated by the numeral 72 having a square base plate 74 of heavy gauge plate steel is mounted on the upper surface of the base 10 so as to overlie the flanges 30 of the angle irons 26 and 28. The corners of the base plate 74 have holes therein through which the bolts 50 project. If the holes in the base plate 74 are slightly out of alignment with the bolts 50, the latter may be deflected laterally in the clearances provided by the recesses 68 and the enlarged openings 46 and 48 until fliey property align therewith. Suitable nuts threaded onto the bolts 50 secure the base plate 74 firmly against the angle iron flanges 30. This is an important feature of this invention.

The base 10 is a composite of steel and concrete reinforcement. The steel frame itself without the concrete is reinforced by the various angle irons, floor plate 20, and rods 34 and 36. The concrete is stressed by virtue of the compressive forces applied thereto by means of the rods 34, 36.

If the base 10 were considered for the moment as a simple lever with a fulcrum placed at the center thereof between the opposite ends 12 and 14, the base 10 would tend to bow or bend downwardly under the weight of the apparatus on the base 10. The tensile strength of upper rods 36 as well as the angle irons 22, 24, 26 and 28 resist this bending force. By the same token, the concrete has previously been stressed in compression such that this bending moment serves only to relieve a portion of the compression. This being true, the bending moments will not crack the concrete.

If fulcrums were placed at the opposite ends immediately adjacent to the channels 12 and 14, and there is no support under the midportion of the base 10, this latter portion will tend to sag. However, such sagging is resisted by the tensile strength of the floor plate as well as the lowermost rods 36. The concrete being in compression as explained before will not crack as only a portion of the force of compression is removed therefrom. Obviously, the sizes and strengths of the various parts of the base 10 must be selected to provide the resistance against bending and cracking of the concrete as just described.

By reason of the angle irons 22, 24, 26 and 28 being only partially imbedded in the body 70 of concrete, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the body 70 is substantially homogeneous throughout its mass with the exception of the rods 34 and 36 therein. The flanges 32 of the angle irons are imbedded in and bonded to the concrete so as to be firmly located and fixed in position. This is an important feature of this invention inasmuch as the solid mounting provided thereby dampens and otherwise absorbs vibration of the equipment mounted on the base 10. By reason of the large mass of the concrete and the firm bonding of the concrete to the angle irons 22, 24, 26 and 28, there can be no relative movement between the metal and concrete parts. Thus, vibration of equipment on base 10 is not likely to loosen the mountings or otherwise cause cracking of the concrete. By resting the equipment on the metal of the angle irons 22, 24, 26 and 28 instead of solely on the upper surface of the concrete body 70, a metal-to-metal contact for mounting is provided. This prevents wearing away of the concrete surface due to contact with the metal base 74, for example, which, in time, could cause suflicient loosening to permit the equipment to vibrate or otherwise move with respect to the base.

By virtue of the strength and durability characteristics of the base 10, a complete refrigeration package which includes the base and all of the equipment shown in FIG. I mounted thereon may be fabricated in one plant and then shipped substatnial distances via truck or railroad to its destination where it is to be used. This permits the refrigeration equipment to be constructed and assembled under ideal working conditions by skilled workmen and the pretesting of the equipment before it is shipped to its ultimate destination. The only thing, then, required at the destination, is perhaps the leveling of the base by installing shims thereunder and the provision of a floor sur' face strong enough to take the weight of the total package.

By reason of the firm mounting of the refrigeration equipment on the base 10 of large mass, the equipment itself will experience a longer wear-life than has been the case in prior art arrangements. The base 10 has greater overall strength, it can be jacked up from different points thereon, depending upon the location of the jack pads 52, it may be easily installed, and it resists breakage experienced in prior art arrangements due to component vibration.

For one working embodiment of this invention, the various parts have the following dimensions, these being given as illustrative only and not as limitations:

Height of channels 12, 14, 16, 18 inches 6-l6 Length of channels 12, 14 feet 6-12 Length of channels 16, 18 do 8-40 Diamter of rods 34, 36 inches /2-l /2 Thickness of floor plate 20 do A A While there have been described above the principles of this invention in connection with specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A supporting base for industrial refrigeration apparatus comprising a relatively flat, rigid frame of predetermined thickness, said frame having spaced-apart side and end members, a plate-like floor member in said frame secured to said sides and end members thereby defining a concrete-containing mold, a plurality of elongated equipment-mounting frame elements extending between and being securely aflixed to said end members, said frame elements constituting reinforcement for said frame and being spaced apart from each other and above said floor member, a body of solidified concrete engaging said side, end and floor members and filling said mold, said concrete body being bonded to said frame elements and defining therewith a flat top surface, a plurality of elongated frame-reinforcing members secured to and extending between said side members and said end members, respectively, said frame-reinforcing members being imbedded in but not bonded to said concrete body, said frame-reinforcing members being tensioned and forcefully compressing said side and end members against said concrete body, and a plurality of upstanding anchoring bolts secured to said floor and extending through apertures in said frame elements, said anchoring bolts being at least partially imbedded in said concrete body.

2. The supporting base of claim 1 wherein at least one of said side and end members has two vertically spaced horizontally outwardly directed flanges, an elongated abutment block secured to the lower flange on the side thereof facing the upper flange; a jack-pad comprising a right angle bracket having reinforcing gussets thereon, one side of said bracket being abutted against said one end member between said flanges, said one side having an edge portion removably inserted between said abutment block and said one member, the other side of said bracket extending horizontally outwardly adjacent to said upper flange whereby a jack may be positioned beneath said other side in order to impart a lifting force to said one member of said frame.

3. The supporting base of claim 1 wherein said frame elements have right angle flanges thereon, one flange being imbedded in and bonded to said concrete body, the other flange having a surface substantially flush with said top surface, said anchoring bolts extending through apertures in said other flange.

4. The supporting base of claim 3 in which said end members are channel irons arranged with the flanges thereof directed oppositely outwardly.

5. The supporting base of claim 4 in which two jackpads are removably attached to the outer side of one of said channel irons, said jack-pads each having two sides at right angles to each other, one side being adjacent to the web of the channel iron and the other side extending outwardly adjacent to the upper flange of the channel iron, and means on said channel iron removably engageable with the lower portion of said one side.

6. The supporting base of claim 4 in which said side members are channel irons arranged with the flanges thereof directed inwardly, said floor member being of steel secured to the bottom flanges of both said end and side members, said frame-reinforcing members being horizontal rods, one series of rods extending between and having opposite ends projecting through webs of the end channels, the rod ends threadedly receiving nuts which bear against the webs of said end channels thereby placing the respective rods in tension, said one series of rods extending substantially parallel to each other.

7. The base of claim 6 wherein a first portion of said rods are imbedded in said concrete body at spaced locations lying metween two vertically spaced horizontal planes, the lower plane being defined by said floor member and the upper plane by said frame elements.

8. The supporting base of claim 7 wherein the rods of said first portion are spaced apart and parallel and extend between said side members at an angle normal thereto, said first portion rods being located about midway between the upper and lower surfaces of said concrete body, a second portion of said rods extending between said end members at right angles thereto and in parallel spaced-apart relation, said second portion rods being arranged in vertically spaced pairs which are horizontally spaced apart, said pairs being located in the cross-section of said concrete body between said two planes, all of said rods being tensioned and attached to the ends thereof to the side and end members, thereby compressing the side and end members against the perimeter of th concrete body.

9. The supporting base of claim 3 wherein said anchoring bolts at the lower ends thereof are welded to said floor member, said concrete body being spaced in the upper portion thereof from said bolts and said apertures having clearances with said bolts whereby the upper end portions of said bolts may be moved laterally so as to align them with predrilled holes in equipment to be mounted thereon.

10. Supporting base of claim 9 in which said frame elements are angle irons which are spaced apart and parallel.

11. The supporting base of claim 10 in which said floor member is of plate steel welded at the perimeter to the side and end members which are also of steel, said side and end members being channel irons which have the webs thereof arranged vertically, said angle irons being welded at the ends thereof to the top portions of said end members, the upper flanges of all of the channel irons and the angle irons lying in a common plane with the surface of the concrete body.

12. The supporting base of claim 11 having mounted on the upper surface of an adjacent pair of angle irons a mounting step including a rigid four-sided frame of angle iron welded to said pair of angle irons, the foursided frame having one flange parallel to the upper surface of the concrete body and the other flange normal thereto, solidified concrete filling the four-sided frame and having an upper surface flush with the upper surface of said flange, the last-mentioned concrete being integral with said concrete body, said one flange having clearance apertures therein which receive respective ones of said anchor bolts.

13. The supporting base of claim 3 including a component of apparatus having a base provided with boltreceiving apertures, said apparatus base resting on the upper surfaces of two adjacent frame elements and being firmly secured thereto by means of said anchoring bolts.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,802,632 8/1957 Byers 248-19 3,237,357 3/1966 Hutchings 52223 3,288,413 11/1966 Gregory 248346 3,334,850 8/1967 Jackson et al. 24819 ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner J. F. FOSS, Assistant Examiner US. 01. X.R. 52-223,- 248-346 

